A night like the feathers of a raven
by RahDamon
Summary: Alfred reminded me so much of the lad with optimistic eyes I had confessed my love of the sea to.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: A night like the feathers of a raven

**Rating**:PG/T

**Characters**: USUK; OC

**Word Count**:939

**Summary:** Alfred reminded me so much of the lad with optimistic eyes I had confessed my love of the sea to.

Disclaimer: Nothing in here belongs to me, get it? It belongs to himaruya. That's the guy's name, right?

* * *

" Wow, Artie," gasped Alfred breathlessly. "This is awesome and great. And wohoo is that a pirate flag?" And then he darted around the ship, being here one second and there the other I would have informed him about everything on the reconstructed ship – it is called Jolly Roger, you bloody wanker – wouldn't he be acting like flying mint bunny on the crack called sugar.

As it was I merely smiled at his childish antics. In this moment he reminded me of another lad I had known centuries ago.

"Captain,Sir," the young man – in reality he was just a boy, 14 years old, but the boy prided himself on being the member of a pirate crew and therefore a man – reported with bright eyes. " We have checked over anything and the whole ship is in perfect condition."

Here the lad paused but I didn't hurry him. Then he spluttered eagerly: "Can I have the first shift of night guard?"

I just had to chuckle. The brunette lad was just too eager to prove his worth, after all he was the youngest and latest of my crew.

At the last port we had restocked food and water for our voyage he had come to me with nothing but the clothes on his back and demanded to be allowed to join the crew. I had told him that the pirate life wasn't what he thought it would be. It wasn't always treasure and heaps of gold and victorious battles. It was also blood and deaths of friends and foes and ongoing, lurking betrayal but the lad was adamant.

He had said that no matter what he wanted to be on my ship and when I set sail he would be on it – with or without my consent. I preferred one more helping hand we had to feed over a rat hiding in the storage and stealing our food.

"Lad go to sleep, you will need it. I have already take over the first shift." I finally answered him.

He didn't follow my advice – it wasn't quite an order yet – instead he sat down next to me. I looked away from him to the tranquil sea. At the sight I couldn't suppress a smile.

The night sky was as dark as a raven's wing, the stars were diamonds in the sky and Luna was watching over us diligently, her light breaking on the water's surface, merely caressing it and being reflected back. A light breeze washed over the sea causing little waves to hit my ship gently and that was the only noise in the otherwise quiet night.

A hesitant voice cut through the silence and asked me nervously: "Sir, if it isn't too personal, will you tell me why you became a pirate?"

Because I had to, because I loved fighting and plundering and pillaging, because I desired to tear down France's and Spain's empires. All these reasons shot through my head but I couldn't tell the little optimistic fool – who was trying to run away from something; yes I could see that. I found the prefect response.

"Because I'm in love with our stormy lady." He blinked perplexed and tilted his head first to one side and then to the other. I laughed quietly and satisfied his non-verbal curiosity.

"The sea, my boy, the sea. She has one hell of a temper to deal with like all women. But what she gives me back for all the trouble I go through is it worth." He still didn't understand me clearly so I attempted to explain better.

"Look at the vast sea! Don't you think of the freedom to choose, to sail to wherever you want to? Don't you feel the thrill of adventure when you you are cradled in Lady Sea's arms ? She is our ally at time and our enemy at times but she is always there."

I wasn't sure this was better but the lad's eyes shone with understanding now and he looked out to the sea with brand-new eyes.

I knew that the whispered words weren't meant for me so I tried to forget.

It was night and we had decided to sleep on board. However I couldn't sleep haunted by the ghosts of my past. So I stood up and made my way towards the bug of the ship.

The sea was just as beautiful as back then. I wondered if sailing the seven seas in our time would be just as fun as in the age of pirates. Probably not.

Suddenly I was hugged from behind and a kiss was pressed to my mop of hair before America settled his head on my right shoulder.

"What is bothering you. Artie? I've noticed that since we boarded this ship you' have been distracted." He murmured into my ear with sleep tinting his voice heavily.

For a moment I said nothing. Then I told him not to worry, it was nothing he should bother with but I cuddled into him seeking his warmth. His arms tightened around me in comfort and he kissed my cheek soothingly.

I wasn't in love with the sea anymore – no, my heart belonged only to Alfred now – but I still looked at her with the eyes of an ex-lover. And I hoped that William, the lad, had been embraced by the sea like he had wished in the night so long ago and on the day of is last fight when he was in his twenties and died in my arms.


	2. AN

Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.

Myself, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.

For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that I believe violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.

It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.

If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.

While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be looseing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.

For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.

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